Information processing device, method, and system for recording and displaying output settings

ABSTRACT

An information processing device for controlling an output device capable of communication, the information processing device includes: circuitry configured to: receive an output setting of the output device including a combination of set values for a plurality of setting items; record, in response to determination of the output setting, the determined output setting including the combination of the set values for the setting items in a storage area; and present one or more output settings acquired from the storage area as a candidate to be reused.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 15/776,105, filed May 15, 2018, which is a National StageApplication of PCT Application NO. PCT/JP2016/084317, filed Nov. 18,2016, which is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2015-226780, filed Nov. 19, 2015, andthe Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-195707, filed Oct. 3, 2016. Theentire contents of the above-identified applications are incorporatedherein by references.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an information processing device, asetting method, and an information processing system.

BACKGROUND ART

In the related art, regarding an output setting screen of a computerprogram for controlling an output device, there is known a function ofcalling a set of set values for a plurality of setting items registeredin advance (which is called favorites, a shortcut icon, a one-clickicon, and the like). For example, a printer driver provides a userinterface such as a print setting screen, and accepts various settingchanges from a user. In the printer driver, there are a large number ofsetting items, and the number of prohibitions among the setting items islarge, so that it is difficult for the user to determine the set valueof the setting item. Thus, there are known printer drivers providing asetting set in which some set values of print setting items are changed.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-182871(Patent Literature 1) discloses a configuration of displaying, in anicon display region, a list of one-click icons each representing one ora plurality of printing functions to easily perform setting of theprinting function of the printer.

Among the various setting items, there are some setting items of whichthe settings can be changed a little for each time of output processing.Such setting items for the printer driver include, for example, settingitems related to printing quality such as monochrome printing, tonersaving, and color balance. Whether to register, as a different settingset, the settings that are changed a little for each time of outputprocessing depends on the user. At a later date, however, demand isfrequently caused for reusing the settings that has been used in thepast. However, the set value of the setting item is held only during theoutput processing, and cannot be reused at a later date.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

In view of the related art described above, there is a need to providean information processing device for reusing an output setting based ona record of the output setting that has been used, regarding the outputsetting of an output device that can communicate with a computer.

Solution to Problem

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, there isprovided an information processing device for controlling an outputdevice capable of communication, the information processing devicecomprising: circuitry configured to: receive an output setting of theoutput device including a combination of set values for a plurality ofsetting items; record, in response to determination of the outputsetting, the determined output setting including the combination of theset values for the setting items in a storage area; and present one ormore output settings acquired from the storage area as a candidate to bereused.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

With the above configuration, regarding the output setting of the outputdevice that can communicate with the computer, the output setting can bereused based on the record of the output setting that has been used.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a printingsystem according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a server device and aclient device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a software component operating ona computer device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a flow of print setting informationwhen a print setting screen provided by a printer driver is used.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the print setting screen provided bythe printer driver.

FIG. 6 is a detailed functional block diagram of a printer driveraccording to a first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating processing of recording a printsetting history performed by a print setting unit according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 8A is a diagram exemplifying a data structure of one-click iconinformation stored in a one-click icon information storage unit.

FIG. 8B is a diagram exemplifying a data structure of one-click iconinformation stored in a one-click icon information storage unit.

FIG. 8C is a diagram exemplifying setting history information stored ina setting history information storage unit.

FIG. 9A is a diagram exemplifying a history display screen according toanother embodiment displaying a history list for registering a historyof combination of set values of setting items as a one-click icon.

FIG. 9B is a diagram exemplifying a registration screen for registeringa history of combination of set values of setting items as a one-clickicon.

FIG. 9C is a diagram exemplifying a registration screen for registeringa history of combination of set values of setting items as a one-clickicon.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the print setting screen provided bythe printer driver after a one-click icon is newly registered based onthe history.

FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating a procedure of print setting in acase of using the print setting screen provided by the printer driver.

FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating a procedure of print setting in acase of using the print setting screen provided by an application.

FIG. 12 is a detailed functional block diagram of a printer driveraccording to a second embodiment.

FIG. 13A is a diagram for explaining a case in which the print settingmay be changed based on user conversation after a print command isissued.

FIG. 13B is a diagram for explaining a case in which the print settingmay be changed based on user conversation after a print command isissued.

FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing of recording aprint setting history for recording, as a history, a print setting withwhich printing is successfully performed by a drawing unit in the secondembodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a print setting history and a recordas a one-click icon at the time of print setting and at the time ofprint execution.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following describes an embodiment, but the embodiment is not limitedthereto. In the following description, as an information processingdevice, exemplified are a computer device that causes the printer driverto be operated.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printingsystem 100 according to the embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, theprinting system 100 includes an image forming apparatus 110, a serverdevice 150, and a client device 190 connected to each other via anetwork 102. As the image forming apparatus 110, a device having anoutput function can be exemplified such as a multifunction peripheral110A and a laser printer 110B. The server device 150 and the clientdevice 190 are configured as a general purpose computer such as apersonal computer and a workstation, a portable information terminalsuch as a tablet computer and a smartphone, and the like. For example,the network 102 is configured as a wired or wireless local area network(LAN) using a transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP)stack.

The server device 150 and the client device 190 cause the printer driveraccording to the embodiment to be operated, and transmits a printrequest along with print data to the image forming apparatus 110 via thenetwork 102. The server device 150 is not specifically limited, and ismanaged by an administrator on a user side of the image formingapparatus 110, for example. The client device 190 is not specificallylimited, and is used by an end user of the image forming apparatus 110.The image forming apparatus 110 is a peripheral that performs imageforming processing based on the received print data in response to theprint request from the server device 150 and the client device 190 viathe network 102.

In the printing system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, the server device 150operates as a host of the image forming apparatus 110, and the clientdevice 190 issues the print request to the image forming apparatus 110via the server device 150. According to a specific embodiment usingWindows (registered trademark) and the like, typically, the printerdriver is downloaded from the server device 150 to the client device 190using the Point & Print technology, and the printer driver can beinstalled in the client device 190. However, the environment illustratedin FIG. 1 is merely an example, and is not specifically limited.According to another embodiment, the image forming apparatus 110 and theclient device 190 may be directly connected to each other via thenetwork 102. According to a further embodiment, the image formingapparatus 110 may be connected to the server device 150 or to the clientdevice 190 via a bus such as a universal serial bus (USB) in place of aLAN and the like, for example.

The Point & Print technology is a technology provided in the Windows(registered trademark) environment. With this technology, in a system inwhich a printer, a host, and a client are connected to a network, theclient downloads a printer driver from the host to be installed, and caneasily cause the printer to perform printing using the host as a printserver.

The printer driver that is installed using the Point & Print technologycan change a computer device that performs drawing processing. Toperform drawing processing on the client side is called client siderendering, and to perform drawing processing on the host side is calledserver side rendering. In such an environment, a print setting changefor each job is performed on the client side. On the other hand, achange of a default print setting is performed on the host side, and thesetting change performed on the host side is synchronized with eachclient.

The following describes a hardware configuration of the server device150 and the client device 190 according to the embodiment with referenceto FIG. 2. Typically, the server device 150 and the client device 190are configured as a general purpose computer device. FIG. 2 is a diagramillustrating the hardware configuration of the general purpose computerdevice according to the present embodiment.

The general purpose computer devices 150 and 190 are configured as adesktop personal computer, a workstation, or the like. A centralprocessing unit (CPU) 12, a northbridge (NB) 14 that connects the CPU 12with a memory, and a southbridge (SB) 16 are arranged on a board 10 ofthe general purpose computer devices 150 and 190. The southbridge 16 isconnected to the northbridge 14 via a dedicated bus or a PCI bus, toconnect the PCI bus, a USB, and the like with an I/O.

A random access memory (RAM) 18 that provides a working area of the CPU12 and a graphic board 20 that outputs a video signal are connected tothe northbridge 14. The graphic board 20 is connected to a displaydevice 50 via a video output interface such as an analog RGB, aHigh-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) (HDMI and High-DefinitionMultimedia Interface are registered trademarks or trademarks), and adigital visual interface (DVI).

To the southbridge 16, connected are a peripheral component interconnect(PCI) 22, a LAN port 24, IEEE1394, a USB port 28, an auxiliary storagedevice 30, an audio input/output 32, and a serial port 34. The auxiliarystorage device 30 is a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD),and the like, and stores an operating system (OS) for controlling acomputer device, a computer program of the printer driver, varioussystem information, and various setting information. The LAN port 24 isinterface equipment that causes the general purpose computer devices 150and 190 to be connected to a network in a wired or wireless manner.Input devices such as a keyboard 52 and a mouse 54 are connected to theUSB port 28 to provide a user interface for receiving inputs of variousinstructions from an operator.

The general purpose computer devices 150 and 190 according to theembodiment read out the computer program from the auxiliary storagedevice 30 and load the computer program into a working space provided bythe RAM 18 to implement each functional unit and each process (describedlater) under the control of the CPU 12. The hardware configuration ofthe general purpose computer devices 150 and 190 has been describedabove. The image forming apparatus 110 also has a similar configurationin that it includes hardware in accordance with a specific applicationsuch as image forming processing, image reading processing, andfacsimile transmission and reception processing, and that it includeshardware such as a CPU and a RAM.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a software component thatoperates on the computer devices 150 and 190 according to theembodiment. FIG. 3 illustrates an application 202, a printer driver 204,and a communication unit 214 as software components 200 on the computerdevices 150 and 190.

The embodiment described herein is based on print architecture ofWindows (registered trademark). The OS is, for example, Windows(registered trademark) 7, Windows (registered trademark) 8.1, Windows(registered trademark) 10, or the like. The OS provides variouscomponents constituting the print architecture. Examples of suchcomponents include a graphics device interface (GDI), a print spooler, aprint processor, a language monitor, a port monitor, and a port driver.

The application 202 is one of various applications having a printingfunction such as the software for word processing, spreadsheet,presentation, drawing, photo retouching, browsing, and viewing adocument. In response to a user operation, the application 202 calls auser interface for print setting provided by the printer driver 204, andissues a print command based on the print setting to the printer driver204.

The communication unit 214 includes software for controlling a controldevice that communicates with the image forming apparatus 110, andtransmits and receives data to/from a communication path outside thecomputer devices 150 and 190.

The printer driver 204 is a driver provided by the computer programaccording to the embodiment, and installed in the computer devices 150and 190. The printer driver 204 generates print data in response to theprint command from the application 202, and transmits the print data tothe image forming apparatus 110 together with the print request. Morespecifically, the printer driver 204 includes a print setting unit 206,a setting storage unit 210, and a drawing unit 212. The print settingunit 206 and the drawing unit 212 may be provided as differentcomponents in the Windows (registered trademark) environment.

The print setting unit 206 includes a display unit 208 that provides agraphical user interface (GUI) for print setting for displaying theprint setting to a user and accepting a change of the print setting fromthe user. In the display unit 208, various settings such as intensiveprinting, bookbinding, and scaling can be configured along with suchsettings as the number of copies and duplex printing. The drawing unit212 receives the print data from the application 202, reflects the printsetting therein, draws the print data while supporting the GDI, andgives a command for printer to drawing data to be passed to the printspooler.

Regarding the components described above, the GDI is a subsystem ofWindows (registered trademark), and controls display of a drawing objectand data transfer to an output device such as the image formingapparatus 110. The print spooler temporarily stores data required forprint processing, and manages execution of the print processing inaccordance with a processing state. The print processor converts spooleddata of a print job into a format to be transmitted by utilizing thedrawing unit 212 of the printer driver 204. The language monitortransmits the data received from the print spooler to the port monitor.The port monitor receives data from the language monitor, performsprocessing based on a communication protocol, and transmits the printdata to the port driver. The port driver accesses an input/output port,controls a connection interface (a USB or a network interface card)between the image forming apparatus 110 and the computer devices 150 and190, and transmits the print data to the image forming apparatus 110.

Especially in the Windows (registered trademark) environment, examplesof a method of implementing the print setting via a user interface bythe user include a method of utilizing a print setting screen providedby the printer driver 204, and a method of utilizing a print settingscreen provided independently by the application 202.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a processing procedure of print settingin a case of utilizing a print setting screen 300 provided by the formerprinter driver. As illustrated in FIG. 4, in response to a user'soperation, the application 202 calls the print setting unit 206 of theprinter driver 204 via an OS 216. The called print setting unit 206 ofthe printer driver 204 causes the display unit 208 to display the printsetting screen 300. The user performs various print settings on theprint setting screen 300. When the print setting screen 300 is closed,the print setting information is passed to the application 202, and theapplication 202 transmits the print command to the drawing unit 212 ofthe printer driver 204 together with the print data based on the printsetting.

FIG. 5 illustrates the print setting screen 300 provided by the printerdriver 204. More specifically, the print setting screen 300 is providedby the display unit 208 of the print setting unit 206 illustrated inFIG. 3. The print setting screen 300 includes a GUI component group 302for receiving set values for various setting items, an OK button 312 fordetermining setting content, a cancel button 314 for discarding acurrent print setting and closing the print setting screen 300, and ahelp button 316. When the OK button 312 is pressed, the print setting isdetermined to be the current setting.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, a large number of GUI components are arrangedin the print setting screen 300 to perform setting by selecting any of aplurality of set values for a plurality of setting items in accordancewith capacity of a device type. Although varied depending on thefunction of the image forming apparatus, the number of functions thatcan be set in the printer driver is larger than those of typicalapplications, and there is also a wide variety of prohibitions among thesetting items. Thus, it is typically difficult for the user to determinethe set value of the setting item.

For simpler and easier setting, in the print setting screen 300illustrated in FIG. 5, a setting set is provided for specifying acombination of set values that is collectively set for a plurality ofsetting items when being selected. In the embodiment described herein,the setting set is called by using a one-click icon and a function to bereferred to. In the print setting screen 300, a list of one-click iconsis displayed in the icon display region 304. In the embodiment describedherein, a designation of “one-click icon” is used. Alternatively, inspecific implementation, various designations may be used such as aneasy setting, a shortcut icon, a favorite, and a user setting.

Due to the function of the one-click icon described above, a burden onthe user for performing the print setting can be reduced. For example,with the printer driver 204, the user can register and hold the settingcontent that has been set as the one-click icon by pressing, forexample, a registration button 308. Furthermore, after selecting theone-click icon, the user can change the set values of some settingitems, press the registration button 308 for example, and newly registeror overwrite and register the one-click icon as a new one-click icon.

There are some setting items the settings of which can be changed alittle for each job. Whether to register the settings that are changed alittle for each job as an independent one-click icon depends on theuser. It is troublesome to register the slightly changed settings as aone-click icon one after another. Such setting content that has beenused in the past but remains unregistered is frequently needed to bereused. However, the set values of various setting items are usuallyheld only during the job is processed. After the job is completelyprocessed, the set values cannot neither be utilized, nor registered asa one-click icon.

The printer driver 204 for controlling the image forming apparatus 110that can perform communication according to the embodiment receives theprint setting in the image forming apparatus 110 including a combinationof set values for a plurality of setting items, and records a determinedprint setting in response to determination of the print setting. Theprinter driver 204 then presents one or more recorded print settings ascandidates to be reused.

The candidates for recording and reusing the print setting may bepresented in various aspects. According to a first aspect, thedetermined print setting is recorded as a history. As candidates to beregistered as a setting set, one or more print settings that have beenused in the past are presented. A print setting to be registered as aone-click icon (setting set) to be reused is designated from among thepresented print settings (one-click icon registration based on thehistory). According to a second aspect, the determined print setting isrecorded as a history in the same manner. As candidates to be selectedas an output setting to be used, one or more print settings that havebeen used in the past are presented. The print setting to be reused isselected from among the presented print settings (to be selected from asetting history list). According to a third aspect, the determined printsetting is recorded as a new setting set when satisfying a specificcondition. As a candidate to be selected as an output setting to beused, the one-click icon (setting set) to be reused is presented (to beselected from a list including the one-click icon registered at the timeof printing).

With the above configuration, regarding the print setting in the imageforming apparatus 110 that can communicate with the computer devices 150and 190, the record of the print setting that has been used in the pastcan be reused to simply and easily perform print setting. With referenceto FIGS. 5 to 10, the following describes a print setting historyrecording function and a print setting reusing function according to thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a detailed functional block of the printer driver 204according to the first embodiment. The display unit 208 of the printsetting unit 206 in the printer driver 204 illustrated in FIG. 6includes a one-click icon selection setting unit 220, a historyselection setting unit 230, a history one-click icon registration unit240, and a setting history record determining unit 250. The settingstorage unit 210 includes a one-click icon information storage unit 260that holds information related to the one-click icon, and a settinghistory information storage unit 262 that holds history information ofthe print setting.

The one-click icon selection setting unit 220 displays a list ofone-click icons, and collectively designates the set values for aplurality of setting items in accordance with a selected icon. Theone-click icon selection setting unit 220 configures a presentationmodule for presenting the print setting as a candidate to be reused whenthe used print setting is registered as the one-click icon automaticallyor through user conversation. In this case, the recorded print settingis presented as a candidate to be selected as the print setting to beused. The icon display region 304 in the print setting screen 300illustrated in FIG. 5 displays one or more one-click icons in aselectable manner, receives the selection of the one-click icontherefrom to be used as the print setting, and reflects the content ofthe selected print setting in a state of the GUI component group 302.

The history selection setting unit 230 displays a list of print settingsrecorded as a history, and collectively designates the set values forthe setting items in accordance with the selected item. The historyselection setting unit 230 configures a presentation module forpresenting the print setting as the candidate to be reused when the usedprint setting is recorded as a history. In this case, the recorded printsetting is presented as a candidate to be selected as an output settingto be used. The print setting screen 300 illustrated in FIG. 5 furtherincludes a history display region 306 for displaying a list of settinghistory. The history display region 306 is a selection receiving modulefor displaying the history of one or more print settings in a selectablemanner, and receiving selection of the print setting to be usedtherefrom. Content of the selected print setting is reflected in a stateof the GUI component group 302.

The history one-click icon registration unit 240 displays a list ofprint settings recorded as a history, and registers the one-click iconin accordance with the selected items. The history one-click iconregistration unit 240 configures a presentation module for presentingthe print setting as a candidate to be registered as a one-click icon tobe reused in a case in which the used print setting is recorded as ahistory. The print setting screen 300 illustrated in FIG. 5 furtherincludes a button 310 for registering the one-click icon based on thehistory. When the button 310 is pressed, the history of one or moreprint settings is displayed in a selectable manner, and a registrationscreen for registering the print setting therefrom as the one-click iconis called. Details about the registration screen will be describedlater.

The setting history record determining unit 250 receives the printsetting, compares a combination of the set values of the setting itemsincluded in the print setting with information of the one-click iconthat has been already registered, and performs processing of registeringthe print setting as a history or a one-click icon. The setting historyrecord determining unit 250 includes a print setting receiving unit 252and a print setting recording unit 254.

The print setting receiving unit 252 is a receiving module for receivingthe print setting in the image forming apparatus 110 including thecombination of set values for a plurality of setting items. In the firstembodiment described herein, the print setting receiving unit 252receives the print setting from the user via the print setting screen300 provided by the printer driver.

The print setting recording unit 254 is a recording module for recordingthe determined output setting in the setting storage unit 210 inresponse to the determination of the print setting. The recordingincludes both recording as a history and recording as a one-click icon.

More specifically, the print setting recording unit 254 can record thedetermined output setting as a setting set of the one-click icon whenthe combination of the set values for the setting items included in thedetermined print setting does not correspond to any of the setting setsof the one-click icons registered in advance and automatic registrationas a one-click icon is permitted, or when registration is selectedthrough user conversation about whether to register the print setting asa one-click icon after the print setting is determined. When thedetermined output setting is not recorded as the setting set of theone-click icon, the print setting recording unit 254 can record thedetermined output setting as a history.

The one-click icon information storage unit 260 stores informationregarding one or more one-click icons registered through normalregistration processing of the one-click icon or registered by thehistory one-click icon registration unit 240. The setting historyinformation storage unit 262 stores the history of one or more printsettings recorded by the print setting recording unit 254.

In the environment including the client device 190 and the server device150 described above, selection from the setting history list displayedin the setting history region 306 illustrated in FIG. 5 and selectionfrom the region 304 including the one-click icon registered at the timeof printing can be performed by the client device 190 or the serverdevice 150 for each job. One-click icon registration based on thehistory may be performed by the end user on the client device 190 orcollectively performed by the administrator on the server device 150 inperforming the job or performing default setting.

The content of information held by the one-click icon informationstorage unit 260 and the setting history information storage unit 262may be independently synchronized with each other between the clientdevice 190 and the server device 150, or may be synchronized in onedirection. For example, the content held by the setting historyinformation storage unit 262 may be integrated into the server device150, and the list of one-click icons centrally managed on the serverdevice 150 may be collectively overwritten on a plurality of clientdevices 190.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating processing of recording a printsetting history performed by the print setting unit 206 according to thefirst embodiment. The processing illustrated in FIG. 7 starts at StepS100 when the print setting screen 300 provided by the printer driver204 is called from the application 202 or the OS 216, for example.

The print setting screen 300 may be displayed when a property of theprinter is called or a detailed setting of the printer is called on thescreen provided by the application 202. Alternatively, the print settingscreen 300 may be called when a printer icon is right-clicked and theproperty is selected from a menu on a screen of a printer folderprovided by the OS 216.

At Step S101, the print setting unit 206 causes the display unit 208 todisplay the print setting screen 300. At Step S102, the print settingunit 206 waits closing of the print setting screen 300, and causes StepS102 to be looped until the print setting screen 300 is closed (during aperiod of NO). If it is determined that the print setting screen 300 isclosed (YES) at Step S102, the process proceeds to Step S103. In thiscase, the print setting receiving unit 252 receives determined printingcontent. According to the first embodiment described herein, the contentof the print setting is determined at the timing when the print settingscreen 300 is closed.

At Step S103, the print setting recording unit 254 refers to theone-click icon information storage unit 260, and attempts to acquire aone-click icon corresponding to current setting content from the list ofone-click icons. At Step S104, the print setting recording unit 254determines whether there is a corresponding one-click icon in the list.If it is determined that there is the corresponding one-click icon (YES)at Step S104, the process branches to Step S113 to be ended. This isbecause such a print setting is already reusable in this case, so that anew one-click icon is neither needed to be registered nor held as ahistory. In contrast, if it is determined that there is no correspondingone-click icon (NO) at Step S104, the process branches to Step S105.

At Step S105, the print setting recording unit 254 determines whetherautomatic registration of the one-click icon is permitted. Permissionfor automatic registration is assumed to be set in advance by theadministrator, for example. If it is determined that automaticregistration is permitted (YES) at Step S105, the process branches toStep S106. At Step S106, the print setting recording unit 254 recordscontent of the determined print setting in the one-click iconinformation storage unit 260, registers the one-click icon therein, andends the process at Step S113.

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are diagrams exemplifying a data structure ofone-click icon information stored in the one-click icon informationstorage unit 260. The information held by the one-click icon is acombination of set values for a plurality of setting items. The printerdriver 204 usually has a default setting (including a print setting atthe time of installation, a standard setting, a factory default, and thelike). Thus, each setting set can be represented as differenceinformation with respect to the default setting as illustrated in FIG.8A. For example, when the icon designates intensive and duplex printing,a difference from the standard setting is “duplex print setting” and“intensive print setting”, so that the set values for the print settingsof the two items are held.

However, a method of holding the one-click icon information is notlimited to a form of holding it as the difference information asdescribed above. As illustrated in FIG. 8B, entire information may beheld. For example, even when the icon designates intensive and duplexprinting, all the set values for the setting items are held in additionto the settings for the “duplex print setting” and “intensive printsetting”. Note that setting items are omitted in FIG. 8B as comparedwith the actual setting items.

Refer to FIG. 7 again. If it is determined that automatic registrationis not permitted (NO) at Step S105, the process branches to Step S107.At Step S107, the print setting recording unit 254 determines whether aregistration confirmation screen is required to be displayed to promptthe user to register the one-click icon. Whether to display theregistration confirmation screen is assumed to be set in advance by theadministrator, for example. If it is determined that the registrationconfirmation screen is required to be displayed (YES) at Step S107, theprocess branches to Step S108.

At Step S108, the print setting recording unit 254 displays theregistration confirmation screen of the one-click icon, and receives aninput from the user. At Step S109, the print setting recording unit 254determines whether registration is instructed. If it is determined thatregistration is instructed (YES) at Step S109, the process branches toStep S106. At Step S106, the print setting recording unit 254 registersthe one-click icon with content of the determined print setting, andends the process at Step S113.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the registrationconfirmation screen is not required to be displayed (NO) at Step S107,or if the instruction that indicates no need for the registration isreceived on the registration confirmation screen (NO) at Step S109, theprocess branches to Step S110.

At Step S110, the print setting recording unit 254 refers to the settinghistory information storage unit 262, and determines whether a historyof the same setting content is already present. If it is determined thatthe history of the same setting content is not present (NO) at StepS110, the process branches to Step S111. At Step S111, the print settingrecording unit 254 records the current setting content as a history inthe setting history information storage unit 262, and ends the processat Step S113.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the history of the samesetting content is already present (YES) at Step S110, the processbranches to Step S112. At Step S112, the print setting recording unit254 increments the number of times of use of the history that is alreadypresent, and ends the process at Step S113.

FIG. 8C is a diagram exemplifying a data structure of setting historyinformation stored in the setting history information storage unit 262.As illustrated in FIG. 8C, the print setting recording unit 254 recordsa combination of set values for a plurality of determined setting itemsin association with identification information for identifying theprinter driver (driver name), identification information for identifyingthe user (user name), identification information for identifying theapplication (application name), identification information foridentifying a file (document name), date and time information (date andtime of printing), and the number of times of use (the number of times).A method of holding the combination of set values can be the same asthat of the one-click icon information, and the combination of setvalues can be recorded as difference information with respect to astandard combination or as the total information. The number of times ofprinting using a combination of the same print settings is held. In thiscase, items other than the number of times may be the final information.

In the example described above, the combination of set values isrecorded in association with all pieces of information in columnsillustrated in FIG. 8C. However, the embodiment is not limited thereto.In another embodiment, the combination of set values may be recorded inassociation with at least one piece of the information described above.A plurality of printer icons may be made for the same printer anddisplayed in the printer folder, so that identification information foridentifying the icon may be associated with the combination of setvalues together with another piece of information, or in place ofanother piece of information.

By recording the combination of set values in association with variouspieces of information as described above, the print setting to bepresented can be selected based on at least one piece of informationthat is recorded in association with the combination of set values. Forexample, display or registration can be controlled for each driver, eachprinter icon, and each user.

With reference to FIG. 5 and FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C, the following furtherdescribes the print setting reusing function according to theembodiment. As described above, the print setting screen 300 illustratedin FIG. 5 includes the icon display region 304 and the history displayregion 306. In the icon display region 304, displayed is the one-clickicon that is registered automatically or through user conversation bythe print setting recording unit 254. In the history display region 306,the history recorded by the print setting recording unit 254 isdisplayed.

The print setting history may be displayed with a display name that iseasily understood by the user when the user refers to the history. Inthe example of FIG. 5, the history is displayed with date and time ofprinting. The one-click icon is displayed as an icon, but the embodimentis not limited thereto. The one-click icon may be displayed as a list inanother embodiment. The print setting screen 300 called from theapplication 202 is the same as that called from the printer folder. Whenthe print setting screen 300 is called from the application 202, theapplication name is included in the history, so that only historyinformation including a corresponding application name may be displayed.

FIG. 9A exemplifies a history display screen according to anotherembodiment displaying a history list. A history list display screen 320illustrated in FIG. 9A includes a history display region 322 fordisplaying the history list, an OK button 324, and a cancel button 326.As each item illustrated in the history display region 322, anapproximate one-click icon and difference information thereof aredisplayed. The approximate one-click icon is an icon having the smallestdifference from the combination of set values related to the history.Expressing a difference between the currently registered one-click iconand the history, as illustrated in FIG. 9A, can help the user understandthe setting content.

With reference to FIG. 5 again, the print setting screen 300 furtherincludes the button 310 for registering the one-click icon based on thehistory. When the registration button 310 is pressed, a one-click iconregistration screen illustrated in FIG. 9B is called by the display unit208. FIG. 9B is a diagram exemplifying a registration screen forregistering, as the one-click icon, the history of the combination ofset values of print setting items.

A registration screen 330 illustrated in FIG. 9B includes a list displayregion 332 for displaying the list of one-click icons, and a historydisplay region 334 for displaying the list of setting history. Aregistration button 336 and a delete button 338 are arranged adjacent tothe history display region 334 for each item of each history. When theregistration button 336 is pressed, the print setting related to thehistory of the corresponding item is registered as the one-click icon.When the delete button 338 is pressed, the history of a correspondingitem is deleted from the setting history information. As illustrated inFIG. 9B, the user can select the setting set of each history to be theone-click icon or to be deleted from the history.

FIG. 9C is a diagram illustrating the registration screen after onehistory is registered as the one-click icon. Specifically, illustratedis a state in which setting content of a history represented as “blackand white, 4 in 1” is registered as the one-click icon in the screen 330illustrated in FIG. 9B. As illustrated in FIG. 9C, an item of “black andwhite (4 in 1)” is newly added to the list display region 332, and acorresponding item is deleted from the history display region 334.

FIG. 10 illustrates the print setting screen 300 after “black and white,4 in 1” is registered as the one-click icon from the history. Asillustrated in FIG. 10, an icon of “black and white (4 in 1)” is newlyadded to the icon display region 304, and a corresponding item isdeleted from the history display region 306.

According to the first embodiment described above, in the computerdevices 150 and 190, the print setting can be reused from the record ofprint settings that have been used in the past as the print setting forthe image forming apparatus 110 that can perform communication.

According to the first embodiment described above, the display unit 208of the print setting unit 206 includes the setting history recorddetermining unit 250 for recording the history, the one-click iconselection setting unit 220 for presenting, as a candidate, the printsetting to be reused, the history selection setting unit 230, and thehistory one-click icon registration unit 240. The following describes asecond embodiment in which the functional units 220, 230, and 240presenting the print setting to be reused are included in the printsetting unit 206, and the setting history record determining unit isalso included in the drawing unit 212. The following describes the printsetting history recording function according to the second embodimentwith reference to FIGS. 11A to 14.

As described above, especially in the Windows (registered trademark)environment, examples of a method of implementing the print setting viaa user interface by the user include the method of utilizing the printsetting screen provided by the printer driver, and the method ofutilizing the print setting screen provided by the application.

In the latter method, the print setting can be changed without using thescreen provided by the printer driver only for typical setting itemsincluded in any printer because the method depends on individualapplication. In the latter case, the combination of set values ofdetermined setting items cannot be usually registered as the one-clickicon because the print setting unit 206 is not called.

FIG. 11A illustrates a procedure of print setting in the former caseutilizing the print setting screen 300 provided by the printer driver.On the other hand, FIG. 11B illustrates a procedure of print setting inthe latter case utilizing a print setting screen 350 provided by theapplication 202. Although the print setting unit 206 does not receivethe print setting in the latter method, as illustrated in FIGS. 11A and11B, it remains that the print setting is transmitted to the drawingunit 212 together with the print command in printing in both of theformer and the latter case. By arranging the setting history recorddetermining unit in the drawing unit 212, the setting history can berecorded even when the latter method is utilized.

In both of the former and the latter case, even when the combination ofset values of setting items is determined, the print job may be canceleddepending on a state of the image forming apparatus 110. In this case, acanceled print setting may be recorded as a history or a one-click icon.For example, a printer to which an IP address is assigned is replaced,and the set values that have been used in the past may be disabled.

Thus, it is preferable to register the setting values used in asuccessful print job as an effective history or an effective one-clickicon. By arranging the setting history record determining unit in thedrawing unit 212, the print setting used in the print job that has beensuccessfully ended can be registered as a valid history or a validone-click icon.

FIG. 12 illustrates a detailed functional block of the printer driver204 according to the second embodiment. The display unit 208 of theprint setting unit 206 in the printer driver 204 illustrated in FIG. 12includes, in the same manner as the first embodiment, the one-click iconselection setting unit 220, the history selection setting unit 230, thehistory one-click icon registration unit 240, and the setting historyrecord determining unit 250. Likewise, the setting storage unit 210includes the one-click icon information storage unit 260 and the settinghistory information storage unit 262. The drawing unit 212 in theprinter driver 204 illustrated in FIG. 12 further includes a settinghistory record determining unit 270.

The printer driver 204 according to the second embodiment includes somefunctions common to those of the first embodiment, so that the followingmainly describes differences therebetween. Functional units having thesame name are assumed to have substantially the same function unlessspecifically mentioned.

The setting history record determining unit 270 of the drawing unit 212has substantially the same function as that of the setting historyrecord determining unit 250 of the print setting unit 206. The settinghistory record determining unit 270 performs processing of receiving theprint setting, comparing the combination of setting items included inthe print setting with information of one-click icons that have beenalready registered, and registering the print setting as a history or aone-click icon when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The settinghistory record determining unit 270 performs processing in the samemanner as the processing after Step S103 in the processing of recordinga print setting history according to the first embodiment illustrated inFIG. 7. More specifically, the setting history record determining unit270 includes a print setting receiving unit 272 and a print settingrecording unit 274.

The print setting receiving unit 272 is a receiving module for receivingthe print setting. In the second embodiment described herein, the printsetting receiving unit 272 can receive, from the application 202, theprint setting via the print setting screen 350 provided by theapplication 202.

The print setting recording unit 274 is a recording module forrecording, in response to determination of the print setting, thedetermined output setting in the setting storage unit 210. The printsetting recording unit 254 has the same function as that of the firstembodiment. Additionally, the print setting recording unit 254 monitorswhether output processing is succeeded, and executes recording when theoutput processing based on the determined output setting is successfullyended. By arranging the function of recording the history in the drawingunit 212, the combination actually used for printing can be recorded asthe history.

According to the first embodiment, the print setting is determined atthe timing when the print setting screen 300 is closed. In the secondembodiment, the print setting may be determined in response to the issueof a print command to which the print setting is given, and thedetermination of print settings through user conversation after theprint command is issued.

FIGS. 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining a case in which the printsetting may be changed through user conversation after the print commandis issued. The drawing unit 212 has a function of converting data intodata that can be interpreted by the printer. Additionally, the followingtwo technologies may be applied to the drawing unit 212.

A first technology is a function of determining a final print setting,which is called pop-up, at the time of printing. FIG. 13A exemplifies ascreen 360A displayed by the pop-up technology. FIG. 13A exemplifies thescreen 360A for setting a password and the like for confidentialprinting. By displaying such a screen, the user can be forced to changean item for each print job.

A second technology is a function of confirming a final image of theprinted material, which is called a preview. This is a mechanism forconfirming whether a sheet is not wasted, and whether the printingcontent is within a sheet. FIG. 13B exemplifies a screen 360B displayedby the preview technology. FIG. 13B displays a screen that performspreview display and accepts a change of the print setting. By displayingsuch a screen, the user can change the final print setting whileconfirming the preview.

When the above technology is applied, the combination of set values ofsetting items can be changed at the timing after the print command isissued, so that the changed content is preferably recorded as a history.A timing of holding the combination of set values of setting items maybe a timing after the OK button is pressed on a pop-up screen or apreview screen and execution of the print job is determined.

FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing of recording theprint setting history for recording, as a history, the print settingwith which printing is successfully performed by the drawing unit 212.In the processing illustrated in FIG. 14, at Step S1, the application(represented as AP in the drawing) 202 calls the CreateDC function, andcreates a device context of the printer. A pointer for a DEVMODEstructure (print setting) designated with an argument of the CreateDCfunction is transmitted to the drawing unit 212 as an argument of theDrvEnablePDEV function at Step S1.1. Accordingly, the drawing unit 212of the printer driver 204 can refer to the print setting information inthe DDI function of the drawing unit 212 that is called during a periodfrom the DrvEnablePDEV function at Step S1.1 to the DrvDisablePDEVfunction at Step S7.1. The print setting information stored in theDEVMODE structure is print setting information generated based on theprint setting received from the user via the print setting screenprovided by the printer driver or the application. When the pop-up orthe preview is not performed thereafter, the received print settingbecomes the determined print setting to be held.

At Step S2, the application 202 calls the StartDoc function to start theprint job. At Step S3, the application 202 calls the StartPage functionto instruct the printer driver 204 to accept data of a new page. Thepop-up screen or the preview screen mentioned above may be called beforethe StartPage function is called. When receiving a change or an additionto the print setting via the pop-up screen or the preview screen, thedrawing unit 212 adds the print setting received via the pop-up screenor the preview screen to the print setting received at Step S1, orchanges the print setting received at Step S1 based on the receivedprint setting to merge the print setting received at Step S1 with theprint setting received via the pop-up screen or the preview screen andholds the merged print setting. In this case, at Step S3 to Step S5described later, a drawing command is transmitted to the printer usingthe merged print setting.

At Step S4, the application 202 calls predetermined drawing function,and passes the drawing data to the printer driver 204. Subsequently,commands are executed corresponding to the degree of the drawingcontent. At Step S5, the application 202 calls the EndPage function,makes a notification that writing corresponding to a page is ended, andmakes an instruction to proceed to a new page. Subsequently, theStartPage function and the EndPage function are repeated for the numberof printed pages.

At Step S6, the application 202 calls the EndDoc function, and ends theprint job. At Step S6.1.1, the drawing unit 212 inquires of the imageforming apparatus (printer) 110 whether printing is succeeded. At StepS6.1.2, the setting history record determining unit 270 of the drawingunit 212 writes a combination of set values of setting items as ahistory when it is not registered as a one-click icon and the print jobis successfully ended. A history to be written in a case in which thechange or the addition to the print setting is received via the pop-upscreen or the preview screen is the print setting described above thathas been merged and held. At Step S7, the application 202 calls theDeleteDC function, and deletes the device context generated at Step S1.

According to the second embodiment described above, even when the printsetting screen provided by the printer driver is not displayed, thecombination of set values of setting items can be held as a history. Inaddition, the combination of set values of print setting items withwhich printing can be actually performed by the printer can be held as ahistory. Furthermore, the print setting performed via the print settingscreen provided by the application, which cannot be registered as aone-click icon in the related art, can be registered.

FIG. 15 collectively illustrates the history of print setting and therecord as the one-click icon at the time of print setting and at thetime of print execution. As illustrated in FIG. 15, when the printsetting is performed on the print setting screen 300 provided by theprinter driver, the one-click icon or the history is recorded from theprint setting unit 206 to the setting storage unit 210 at the time ofprint setting. Even when the print setting screen 300 is not used, withthe print setting at the time of print execution, the one-click icon orthe history can be recorded from the drawing unit 212 to the settingstorage unit 210. The print setting at the time of print execution maybe changed on the pop-up screen or a print preview after the printcommand is issued. Also in this case, the changed content can berecorded as the one-click icon or the history from the drawing unit 212to the setting storage unit 210. When it is confirmed that the print jobis successfully completed in the image forming apparatus 110, theone-click icon or the history can be recorded from the drawing unit 212to the setting storage unit 210.

The setting storage unit 210 does not necessarily have to be present ina computer local in which the printer driver 204 operates. Asillustrated in FIG. 15, the print setting unit 206 and the drawing unit212 may be configured to be accessible at the appropriate times.

The setting storage unit 210 can change a storage place thereofaccording to a specific embodiment. Examples of the setting storage unit210 include (1) a local storage area provided by a storage deviceincluded in or connected to the client device 190 that executes theprinter driver 204, (2) a storage area provided by the server device 150in a point and print environment, (3) a storage area provided by ashared file server and the like that provide a shared storage area, and(4) a storage area provided by an external computer that provides astorage area as a service such as a cloud storage service.

The storage areas (2) and (3) described above are appropriate for a caseof sharing the one-click icon in a network and causing the one-clickicon to be used for each icon or each user. The storage area (4) isappropriate for a case of using the same one-click icon associated witha user account even when the computer device 190 to be used is changed.

The first and second embodiments have been described above. According tothe embodiments described above, provided are a computer program, aninformation processing device, a setting method, and an informationprocessing system that can reuse the output setting from the record ofthe output setting that has been used for the output setting in theoutput device that can communicate with the computer.

In the above description, a preferable print setting has been used toillustrate an output setting. However, the output setting is not limitedto the print setting. For example, in another embodiment, the outputdevice may be a facsimile device, and the output setting may be appliedto a setting of facsimile transmission. The above embodiments describe asystem including the image forming apparatus 110 and the informationprocessing device such as the computer devices 150 and 190 as theinformation processing system. However, the functions described abovecan be applied to any system including one or more image formingapparatuses and one or more computer devices.

The functional units described above can be implemented with a computerexecutable program described in an object-oriented programming languageor a legacy programming language such as an assembler, C, C++, C#, andJava (registered trademark), and can be distributed while being storedin a computer-readable recording medium such as a ROM, an EEPROM, anEPROM, a flash memory, a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-RW, a DVD-ROM, aDVD-RAM, a DVD-RW, a Blu-ray Disc, an SD card, and an MO, or through anelectric communication line.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above.However, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to theabove embodiments, and can be changed within a range that is conceivableby those skilled in the art including another embodiment, addition,modification, and deletion. Any aspect is included in a scope of thepresent invention so long as it exhibits working and effects of thepresent invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   100 Printing system-   102 Network-   110 Image forming apparatus-   150 Server device-   190 Client device-   200 Software component-   202 Application-   204 Printer driver-   206 Print setting unit-   208 Display unit-   210 Setting storage unit-   212 Drawing unit-   214 Communication unit-   216 OS-   220 One-click icon selection setting unit-   230 History selection setting unit-   240 History one-click icon registration unit-   250, 270 Setting history record determining unit-   252, 272 Print setting receiving unit-   254, 274 Print setting recording unit-   260 One-click icon information storage unit-   262 Setting history information storage unit-   300 Print setting screen-   302 GUI component group-   304 Icon display region-   306 History display region-   308 One-click icon registration button-   310 Button for registering one-click icon based on history-   312 OK button-   314 Cancel button-   316 Help button-   320 History list display screen-   322 History display region-   324 OK button-   326 Cancel button-   330 Registration screen-   332 List display region-   334 History display region-   336 Registration button-   338 Delete button-   350 Print setting screen-   360 Screen-   10 Board-   12 CPU-   14 Northbridge-   16 Southbridge-   18 RAM-   20 Graphic board-   22 PCI-   24 LAN port-   26 IEEE1394 port-   28 USB port-   30 Auxiliary storage device-   32 Audio input/output-   34 Serial port-   52 Keyboard-   54 Mouse

CITATION LIST Patent Literature [PTL 1]

Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-182871

1. An information processing device for controlling an output devicecapable of communication, the information processing device comprising:circuitry configured to: receive an output setting of the output deviceincluding a combination of set values for a plurality of setting items;record, in response to determination of the output setting, thedetermined output setting including the combination of the set valuesfor the setting items in a storage area; and present one or more outputsettings acquired from the storage area as a candidate to be reused.